Pain Free Birth

What if fear doesn’t have to be part of your first home birth experience?
In this episode of the Pain Free Birth Podcast, Karen Welton sits down with Katie Brambila, a first-time mom and midwife-in-training, to share her incredible, God-filled home birth story.
Katie brings a unique perspective to birth. Before becoming pregnant, she had already spent nearly three years in midwifery school and attended close to 100 births, most of them at home. Despite her extensive experience, Katie still had to confront common fears and stigmas surrounding first-time home birth, including the belief that first labors are always long, difficult, or destined for transfer.
Throughout the conversation, Karen offers expert insight on dismantling birth fear, the importance of mental preparation, and why even highly knowledgeable women still need intentional support and mindset work in birth. Together, they normalize fear, highlight the vulnerability of labor, and encourage women to trust their bodies and God’s design for birth.
Tune in to hear:
Why first-time home birth fears are common and how to reframe them
How mindset and mental preparation impact the experience of labor
The role of surrender and faith in pain-free birth
Why identifying and targeting specific fears is more effective than avoiding them
How breath, prayer, and focus can change how contractions feel
What it’s like to actively push and birth at home as a first-time mom
Why support from a doula and birth team matters, even for birth professionals
Connect with Katie:
IG: @katiebrambila
Send her a DM & mention this episode to receive free shipping on NORA Moon Time tea blend to support your luteal and menstrual phases.
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE
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What happens when a woman stops outsourcing her intuition and starts trusting her body?
In this episode, Karen sits down with Polina Westcott, creator of Sensible Mama, to share two transformative home birth stories that radically changed the way Polina views birth, fear, pain, and personal authority.
Polina opens up about her first pregnancy, where everything seemed medically “normal” until routine testing suddenly turned her pregnancy into a problem to be managed. When questioning protocols led to pushback from her providers, Polina made the bold decision to fire her OB team at eight months pregnant and pivot to a home birth. What followed was a long, challenging, and deeply empowering first labor that revealed strength she never knew she had.
Her second birth could not have been more different. She shares how mindset, education, and surrender completely transformed how her body responded to contractions and labor progression. This episode dives deep into birth autonomy, informed consent, intuition, and the mind-body connection in labor. 
Tune in to hear:
Why Polina chose to fire her OB team late in pregnancy
How questioning medical authority led her to reclaim birth autonomy
What really happens during transition and why many women want to “tap out”
The doula moment that changed everything during her first labor
How mindset radically altered her second birth experience
What fetal ejection reflex actually feels like in real life
Why trusting intuition protected her during the third stage of labor
How fear, resistance, and control affect labor progression
Why birth can be an initiation into motherhood, strength, and self-trust
Connect with Polina:
Www.sensiblemama.com
https://www.youtube.com/@sensible_mama
IG: @sensible_mama
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE
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What if pain, stress, and even birth trauma weren’t things your body needed to “push through”, but signals your nervous system was asking for safety?
In this powerful and deeply grounding episode, Karen sits down with Dr. Scherina Alli, a network spinal chiropractor specializing in nervous system regulation, somatic respiratory integration, and care for pregnant women, babies, and children.
Together, they explore how the body holds emotional stress, why babies are communicating far more than we realize, and how nervous system regulation can transform pregnancy, birth, postpartum healing, and even fertility. 
Dr. Scherina also shares her own beautiful home birth story. One rooted in trust, presence, and deep connection with her body offering a refreshing and empowering perspective on what birth can be when women feel safe, supported, and embodied.
Tune in to hear:
How the nervous system stores emotional stress and trauma in the body
Why “colic” is often a sign of nervous system dysregulation, not a diagnosis
The difference between traditional chiropractic care and network spinal care
How babies communicate stress, tension, and discomfort without words
Why babies don’t “grow out of” nervous system stress 
How pregnancy and birth experiences shape a baby’s lifelong nervous system blueprint
The role of breath, movement, and pelvic mobility in preparing for birth
How unprocessed emotions can impact pregnancy, fertility, and labor
Dr. Scherina’s calm, fast, and deeply present home birth story
Why presence (not avoidance) is the key to an empowered birth experience
How women can rebuild trust in their bodies after trauma or infertility
Simple ways to recognize stress versus safety in your own nervous system
CONNECT WITH DR SCHERINA:
Follow Dr. Scherina on Instagram: @drscherina
Website: drscherina.com
Network Spinal Chiropractor Directory: https://www.drscherina.com/directory
PX Docs Directory for neurologically focused prenatal and pediatric chiropractors: https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE
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In this of the Pain Free Birth podcast, Karen Welton sits down with Anastasia Malyk, a mother of four, to share one of the most jaw-dropping birth stories you will ever hear.
After experiencing two prior free births, Anastasia found herself unexpectedly pregnant with mono-di identical twins just seven months postpartum. What followed was a journey marked by medical pressure, fear-based recommendations, spiritual surrender, and unwavering trust in God’s design for her body.
This episode is a bold testimony of faith, bodily wisdom, and the importance of advocacy in pregnancy and birth. It is especially encouraging for twin moms, women navigating medical pressure, and anyone seeking reassurance that physiological birth is possible, even when circumstances seem stacked against you.
 In this episode, you’ll hear:
What led Anastasia to choose free birth for her first two babies
How she navigated fear and faith after learning she was pregnant with twins
Why she fired her OB after being pressured into a cesarean
What it was like carrying twins past 41 weeks
How labor progressed so quickly she didn’t believe it was real
What it felt like to birth twins with no pushing and no pain
How faith shaped every decision throughout pregnancy and birth
Encouragement for twin moms who desire a natural or physiological birth
Connect with Anastasia:
IG: Anastasiamalyk_
TikTok: @anachenko

CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE
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What happens when you stop fighting labor and start working with your body? 
In today’s episode of the Pain Free Birth Podcast, Karen sits down with Mallory Ryan, a mom of two who shares her deeply transformative birth experiences. Mallory walks listeners through her first unmedicated birth at a birth center and her second, rapid home birth that she describes as joyful, empowering, and profoundly connected to God’s design for birth.
Whether you are pregnant, preparing for birth, or simply curious about physiological birth and faith-filled preparation, this episode will leave you feeling encouraged, informed, and inspired to trust your body and God’s design.
Tune in to hear:
Why Mallory chose unmedicated birth for both of her babies
How learning the physiology of birth helped reduce fear and pain
The role mindset and relaxation play in labor intensity
Why fast labors are not always more painful
How choosing joy impacts oxytocin and birth progress
What a “butter birth” is and how surrender changes pushing
How faith influenced Mallory’s confidence during labor
The difference between pain and suffering in childbirth
Why birth is not something happening to you, but within you
How empowering births shape confidence in motherhood and postpartum
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE
Grab Karen's Healing Birth Trauma Course HERE. This course is for any woman experiencing trauma in the body. If you're ready to release it, this course is for you. 
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